Dirty Writer

Lilly slipped sensuously out of her long-johns...

Every now and then writers should branch outside of their comfort zone. Work on the areas we're weak in. My stories all contain some humour, a dog and are usually aimed at the kids - YA market. Last year during NaNoWriMo, I wrote the first draft of DIGGING UP DEATH, a paranormal mystery. I surprised myself when my protagonist, being in her early 20s, jumped into bed with a hottie from her dinosaur dig site (who may or may not turn out to be a murderer). Woah. I don't write sex... do I?

I don't know if I do or not. This story might get scaled back to YA level in the edits. What I do know is I don't write romance well, which affects my ability to write passion, which dictates how well I could write a sex scene.

When I saw the ACT Writers group was hosting a workshop called 'Turn up the heat' - I knew I had to take the opportunity to try it out.

Well, you think you know things.... The workshop leader, Nicole Murphy opened my eyes to some important elements and techniques of writing about getting hot and sweaty.

One key piece of advice applies to all types of writing - READ lots of the style of writing you want to write. Find great examples to imitate and find woeful ones to learn from someone else's mistakes (I made quite a few mistakes you could learn from in my writing exercises today, e.g. 'pungent' not a great word for exploring the scent sense in lurve making).

Nicole Murphy also tells us to consider the emotional intensity in any sex scene - how much do your characters have invested in this, does that show (to the reader, if not to the other character)?

There was lots more advice and exercises (which I am hiding well under a stack of literary books so my kids don't find them, partly because they're raunchy, but mostly because they're BAD). If you want some reading to give you some saucy examples, check out Nicole Murphy's paranormal romance novel:

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Blogger, the Lover Returns

Okay, sometimes it takes you leaving me before I understand how much I need and love you.

Blogger baby, I'm so glad you're back - now I can go and visit all those blogs and leave comments!

One thing though, and I don't mean to be picky, but where has my scheduled post gone? It didn't go up, but nor did it stay in my draft folder. You didn't hock it while you were on the run for fun money did  you?


How did you survive the apocalypse?

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Poke the Writer's Box

There's been a lot of hype about Seth Godin's book Poke the Box. I gave it a whirl and found it a fast and fun read. Motivational books are often left open to interpretation and I read this from a writer's perspective.

The main theme of this book is bravery. Don't be afraid to try things, to start things, to shake things up - in other words poke the box. My dad's an entrepreneur by nature, so my childhood reading included books like Dale Carnegie's How to Make Friends and Influence People and Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich (you can get the Kindle version for under a dollar). They had their own cult followings, this book will be like that. The trick is, it pushes you to act, but is ambiguous enough that everyone can relate to it. Dad would like this book, but maybe because the little man on the cover looks like he might be a distant relative of a Queensland favourite; the XXXX factory headquarters is just around the corner from my Dad's and they still sport their 1960s logo:

There are no secret instructions to success. You won't find them in this book either, but Godin points out, that's not the point of the book. You have to stop waiting for instructions - you need to GO, you need to START SOMETHING. And if it doesn't work? START SOMETHING else, and something else. Always be starting. Godin tells us, don't wait to be picked - PICK YOURSELF.

Writers feeling uncertain about putting their work out there, or considering self-publishing would get a LOT out of this book. Godin has been known to encourage writers to take a risk with their work. This book is part of a self-publishing project, you can learn more by visiting:

The Domino Project

Or, visit Seth's Blog

You might also like Brainwashed -a free ebook about re-inventing yourself.

Now I'm reading Save the Cat

Have you read Poke the Box? Got another Seth Godin book you love? Let me know!

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Organisation and the Writer

The Writer's Kanban:

I started reading Personal Kanban. A book about organising your tasks. I'm a big to-do list girl but am always open to new ideas for organisation and project management. The biggest problem I've found with most tools is when you try to combine several projects at once, for me that would be teaching, writing and home life.

This book was easily read in a day and I suspect it is one of those techniques that you have to use for a while before you appreciate it. It seems simple enough; write all your tasks on post it notes, stick them in the backlog (to-do) column, prioritise and move the ones you can work on now to the 'doing' column and move them to 'done' when finished. The key difference that I can spot between writing a to-do list and using this system is in a list all your tasks are there waiting to be done, it can be a bit overwhelming. Kanban insists you limit your WIPs, that is limit the number of tasks you allow in your 'doing' column.

I didn't have a whiteboard handy, so I improvised with my wardrobe pink is writing, blue is teaching (today was Mother's Day, so I felt no need to add domestic chores):

I'll try this for a while and let you know if it turns out to be a life-changer. You can find out more about the Kanban system by visiting the website:

http://www.personalkanban.com/pk/

Or view these slides:

Personal Kanban 101

I've been trying it out along with the Pomodoro technique - you work on a task for 25minutes, take a 5minute break and then move onto a different task for 25minutes. I've blogged about it before in:

8 Ways to Prioritise Writing

Or, you can find out more at:

http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/

Now I'm reading Seth Godin's Poke the Box:

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Writer's To-Do List

Weak attempt to make a to-do list seem sexy.

So much to do, so little time to recline in an alluring pose. This week I plan to...

• Buy more Paranormalcy hardcover copies for gifts at the discounted price (click here to see or go to Paper Dolls for a review from 13yr old Milly).
• Check out what local writing events are coming up and whinge a lot that Canberra does not seem to have its own writers festival anymore. *pouts*
• Finish writing Ch3 of MY ZOMBIE DOG - Zane is trying to wash the dog he buried yesterday, but undead is the hardest smell to get rid off.
• Send another Query out for DOG SHOW DETECTIVE.
• Catch up with my Graphic Designer over content data for the website (but really for cups of tea, cake and gossip).
• Get a little (read teeny weeny) bit of editing done on THE COSTUME MAKER.
• Fantasise about getting a new MacBook Pro laptop. Mmmmm pretty....
• Read My Personal Kanban a book I heard about on a new podcast Kindle Self Publishing. This book promises to make me a more organised project manager for my writing, and possibly write better to-do lists. (I'll blog more when I've read it)
• Blog - about something (it'll come to me).
• Catch up on visiting your blogs.

Think I'll climb back into bed now and cover the reading part.

What's your to-do list looking like?

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10 Ways to find Time to Write



Think you have no time to write? I'm finding some of these tactics helpful to get me through writing MY ZOMBIE DOG.

1. LOVE your WIP. Seriously, this is the best way to find time to write, if you can't wait to get back to it, you think about it all day long, then you'll find a way.
2. PRIORITISE. Stop thinking you need to find 'spare' time to write. There is no spare time, everyday only has the same 24 hrs. Start deciding to write before you take on daily chores.
3. MORE HOURS. There's the get up early or stay up late method. Even if it's just 30 minutes and you get a couple of hundred words in, it's a start to get you motivated.
4. NOTEBOOKS. Take one with you everywhere, you'll be amazed how many words will add up when you add a few on the bus, waiting in line at the supermarket or sitting in the pub waiting for your mate to get back from the bar.
5. DON'T COMPARE. If you start focusing on how many words other writers get in, you'll feel disappointed.
6. MINIMUM LIMITS. Sometimes I set a time I'll be on a break and I'll say, ok, just have to get ONE sentence in, then leave it. Of course once you get that one sentence, you'll be motivated to write more.
7. REWARDS. I've done this before where I want a book on writing or to attend a workshop. I'll set myself a wordcount I have to reach before I'm allowed to purchase/book it. I think everyone should have a nice big reward for finishing a draft. That's a big deal!
8. TURN OFF the Internet. I could be writing now.
9. Write BETWEEN tasks. I have a 20 minute  cleaning routine. The whole family runs around madly cleaning for 20 minutes. From now on, I'll extend that routine to 10 minutes writing, 20 cleaning, then 10 writing. Once it becomes part of the routine, it'll have to be done (those are the rules).
10. SHORT SPRINTS. Even if it's 5 minutes. If you can sneak in ten of those a day, you'll find you write faster and more productively if you know you don't have much time.

How's your writing coming? I've been squeezing in time in my lunch breaks to write, Zane has now found the smelly undead dog back in his room, after burying it yesterday. And it seems to like him.

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How to Write Fiction from Life

Some of my real life inspirations

Most of my stories have grown from an experience in my life. Not specifically, I haven't seen dragons, uncovered a murder mystery or owned a zombie dog (wait, I have done the last one), but I've heard a conversation, watched a behaviour or been in a situation I've found laughable enough to write about.

When my eldest daughter started getting interested in dog showing, we'd attend the shows and I started to think it would be a great micro-culture for a murder mystery. The Pirate Girl included a character based on the tenacity and passion of my youngest daughter. And of course, there's our zombie dog.

Fossil has never been right in the head. She's one of those typical tiny dogs that feels the need to prove themselves against every other dog, visitor, postman or vacuum cleaner. We have three dogs, but have to keep the little one away from our Border Collie, Zoe. Fossil starts many fights with her, but Zoe's able to finish them. I can't tell you how many times I've been convinced Fossil was done for. I always tell the rest of the family the dog's been dead (she certainly looks it) for years, and is just waiting for someone to dig the hole. This fluffy psychopath has been the inspiration for my new WIP - My Zombie Dog.

Chapter one of My Zombie Dog begins with a dog burial after Zane's mum brings home a mutt that instantly dies. I remembered having to bury my last dog, Scruffy, after 17years of friendship. Matilda was only about four and was caught shortly afterwards dragging a shovel towards the grave. When asked what she was doing, she informed us she wanted to play with Scruffy. Funny, creepy, but funny. A little sister does a similar thing in My Zombie Dog, except with a plastic spade (just a little less creepy).

You have to be careful not to stick too closely to real life for fiction for several reasons:

• It's usually not quite as funny as your imagination can make it.
• Just because it really happened, doesn't make it believable for the reader.
• You could offend someone if you depict them in a way that is obvious (this could also be a legal issue).

Where do you get your ideas? I've blogged about other ways to find inspiration in:

Plot Ideas from Headlines

I is for Ideas

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